Changes to Health and Safety Legislation to be Aware of

As of the 6th April 2015, some important changes were made to the Health and Safety Regulations which aimed to make the legislation clear to understand and therefore, easier to follow. This includes removing or amending some of the existing rules that you will have had to adhere to in the past. These changes are outlined below.

 

Who will the changes affect?

The changes should be acknowledged by all, but the aim of the updates was to make the legislation clearer and easier to follow for small to medium sized projects in the construction sectors, as that is the area attributed to the majority of industry related fatalities.

The changes:

  • The CDM Coordinator role is to be replaced by a client-appointed Principal Designer for projects that involve more than one contractor on site.
  • The notification threshold has been changed; clients now need to notify the HSE of projects that will exceed 30 construction days with more than 20 workers on site simultaneously, or if the project exceeds 500 person days.
  • Replacement of overly bureaucratic competency requirements with IITS requirements; workers must be able to demonstrate their capability, and their ability to fulfill legal duties, to the client.
  • The introduction of an industry specific guide in substitute of the larger ACoP. The guide will be issued alongside a slimmed down ACoP.
  • The removal of the domestic client exemption means that the domestic client will have to appoint a Principal Designer for the project, otherwise the first Designer appointed during pre-construction automatically receives the role.

Measures being removed

The following revokes and repeals were deemed redundant or covered by more up to date Regulations; these changes do not compromise the health and safety of workers:

  • Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922
  • Gasholder (Record of Examinations) Order 1938
  • Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing Regulations 1960
  • Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Repeals and Modifications) Regulations 1974
  • Celluloid and Cinematograph Film Act 1922 (Exemptions) Regulations 1980
  • Gasholder and Steam Boilers (Metrication) Regulations 1981
  • Locomotives etc Regulations 1906 (Metrication) Regulations 1981
  • Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances Regulations 1982
  • Docks, Shipbuilding etc (Metrication) Regulations 1983
  • Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989
  • Notification of Installations Handling Hazardous Substances (Amendment) Regulations 2002
  • Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010
  • Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes (Amendment) Regulations 2010

ISO 14001 revisions

ISOs are reviewed every 5 years to establish if any revisions are required in order to keep the guide relevant. ISO 14001:2015 will be released this month and will have key changes relating to:

  • More prominence on environmental management within strategic planning processes
  • More focus on leadership
  • Initiatives to protect the environment from harm
  • Addition of communications strategy

 

Being up-to-date on the Health and Safety Regulations is very important to Euro 1 Training, and to many potential employers who include health and safety training as a desired or essential attribute to advertised job roles. That’s why we strive to offer the best possible courses with experienced instructors, fair prices and a high pass rate. For more information, contact us here.